As US President Barack Obama and his administration officials continue to assure their European allies that they will receive as much natural gas from the US as they need, a Foreign Policy report shows the White House’s comforting messages do not add up mathematically.

According to Foreign Policy, the Obama administration’s assurance to its European allies that they will be able to receive as much US natural gas as they need could be a deliberate refusal to underscore the two key words “by tanker.”